These standard documents are not designed to meet all the requirements of every company. The standard Plans and Offer letters have been provided in Word format so that you can download and alter to suit your particular circumstances.

To further help start-up companies establish and operate an ESS, the ATO will provide a link (see below) to software developers who have produced interactive applications to assist with the task of assembling and populating the standard ESS documents.

Please note that the ATO cannot recommend or endorse any one product or service over another and will not be responsible for any loss, damage, cost or expense in connection with using this application. The ATO has not carried out any testing of the listed applications and does not carry out any form of security testing of developer products or services. If you intend to use the interactive application you are encouraged to ask the developers about the security aspects of their products and the services they provide.

The Australian Taxation Office has developed a set of standard document templates designed to assist eligible start-ups to establish and operate an Employee Share Scheme of Options to acquire newly issued ordinary shares.

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If you follow our information and it turns out to be incorrect, or it is misleading and you make a mistake as a result, we will take that into account when determining what action, if any, we should take.

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